You might have been amazed by the enormity of the 100,000-square-foot skyscraper ad on a countryside field below Gatwick’s flight path — all sponsored by adult web and mobile company MyPrivateDance.com.
London-based MyPrivateDance is trying to find new customers — in a very big way — to latch on to its web and mobile service that offers pay-per-view and monthly subscription to view in real-time or download solo girls and same-sex couples in a variety of poses, clutches and struts.
With its ad that features a giant silhouette of a naked pole dancer painted on a field beneath Gatwick’s flight path, parent company Rock Entertainment Ltd. has amazed many and also garnered critics with its gargantuan plug for MyPrivateDance, which offers a webmaster affiliate program.
Topping the list of critics is the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which has expressed disgust with it.
"It sets such a nasty precedent, using our landscapes just for advertisement," said Paul Miner, an official for the campaign.
Parent company Rock Entertainment Ltd., which didn’t return calls to XBIZ by post time, likely chose Gatwick because of its high volume of flights.
Gatwick is London’s second largest airport and the second busiest airport in the U.K. after Heathrow.
The MyPrivateDance ad is nearly invisible from the ground but can be seen by thousands of airline passengers each day.
Tandridge District authorities told local media Friday that they might take legal action if the ad wasn’t removed because no proposal was presented to its council.
"Planning regulations require any device or representation in the form of an advertisement may require consent from the council,” Tandridge official John Lawrence said. "Clearly this advertisement is there to attract the attention of people arriving at Gatwick and should have consent to display it."
This isn’t the first time that ads have appeared near the airport. In 2005, an ad for Lynx deodorant featuring a man fondling two naked women was washed off a nearby field after Unilever PLC decided to pull it.
The company that painted the field for MyPrivateDance, London-based Flightpath Media, uses a water-based, biodegradable paint on the field and cuts away the paint at the end of the contract.
